Measurements
The do's and don'ts of
outdoor sound measurements
We love outdoor sound measurements – nothing better than getting outside to do our work. But we always tell clients, don’t ask questions if you are not prepared for the answers. Acoustic data, collected in the field, is often messy with potentially confusing results (as opposed to computer modeling). However, nothing will give you better ground truth than physical measurements. Below are several of the types of field measurements that can be performed, and what you could expect from the results. And feel free to contact us to learn more about outdoor sound measurements and how they can help.
Field Measurement Guide
Data you want
How to get it
What to watch for
Siren Source Levels
Conduct a formal source characterization following the ANSI S12.14 protocol.
Source levels may not be what you expect.
Background sound levels
Conduct field measurements, following ANSI S12.9 Part 2
These measurements are designed to be taken over a long period of time, over a wide area. The longer and wider, the better.
Industrial noise levels
Conduct field measurements, following ANSI S12.9 Part 3.
Depending on the situation, you need to ensure you can isolate the specific noise elements you are trying to analyze.
Check the contour edge
and/or
Verifying model predictions
Conduct field measurements, following ANSI S12.9 Part 3.
These are a popular but risk type of measurement that can produce confusing results. There are so many ways the atmosphere impacts sound propagation it can be hard to understand why some locations measure high levels of sound while other measure low levels. The more data collected the better so you can find the average result within that spread.